


Bless the Broken Road

by Luigigirl16



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luigigirl16/pseuds/Luigigirl16
Summary: International businessman, Shadow, gets stranded in an old town in the middle of nowhere with only a small area with service and his friend from years past. When he has to 'earn his stay', things seem to change for the better as he gains new roots and new friends. However, every story has it's villain. And the owner of most of the town is no different.When the last remaining farm is in jeopardy, will Shadow be able to help save it or will his life in the city call him back?
Relationships: Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat, Miles "Tails" Prower & Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

The car sputtered as it slipped underneath the shade of a small service station, dying once it was completely under. The owner of the car lightly growled as he opened the door, a gloved hand reaching up and grabbing onto the door, pulling the owner up. The black hedgehog looked around, his red striped quills, four that defied gravity, lightly shifting at this. His crimson eyes scanned the area, black ears twitching at the sound of the gas station door opening. Out stepped a red echidna, wearing a set of overalls. "Need any help?"

The other looked behind to the echidna, then to his car. He stepped away from the door and pushed it closed, "yeah. The thing died in me right as I reached this place. Is there a mechanic here?" The echidna nodded, "yea. I'll take your car to the back, you can head inside and relax a little." The hedgehog nodded, "thanks. By the way, what town am I in?'

The echidna lightly smirked, "Nocona, smallest town in history with the biggest fall festivals. Why ya askin'?" The hedgehog checked the time on his wrist watch, "no reason. Just wanted to make sure I was in the right place." He opened the store door, hearing a small bell sound. The place looked like a dinner with a bar area as well. The area was small, but not uncomfortably so. There where booths next to the window and the bar had many bar stools a decent few inches apart. He spotted a familiar set of black bat wings and lightly smirked, "I believe someone I knew once told me to never trust a woman behind a bar."

The girl gasped and froze, white ears perking up at the familiar voice. She turned around and nearly jumped over the bar, pulling the black hedgehog into a tight hug. The hedgehog lightly flinched but lightly patted the small space between her wings on her back. "It's nice to see you too, Rouge." "You jerk. Why didn't you call me?" She pulled back to look the other over, seeing him sporting a formal outfit, meant for the higher ups of the business world. however, he still had his original gold bands on his wrist and ankles and his hover skates. The bat, however, was in a more classy outfit, wearing a plaid dress with a white apron over the bottom. "I had been given another assignment and aren't you supposed to be protecting someone?"

The bat lightly scoffed, "yeah. And I am." At that exact moment, the door opened once again, this time showing a blue hedgie in a blue plaid shirt and jeans with ne foot in a cast. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and he was panting heavily. The bat quickly maneuvered around the bar and rushed to the blue ones side, helping him limp to a bar stool. Once in a chair, the bat quickly got the other a bottle of cold water. The bottle was emptied and replaced in seconds with another, up until the other finally stopped and laid his head on the table. And even then, he was still panting.

The bat sighed, "what did he tell you about using that leg of yours?" The blue hedgie lightly groaned, "and what did you tell me about staying away from him?" Her blue eyes flickered from the hedgie to the window. spotting a bicycle leaning against it. She quickly put two and two together, "you rode it all the way here? That's a three mile drive!" The blue hedgie lightly chuckled, "yeah. And it used to be no sweat to me." The bat rolled her eyes, "before you broke your leg. Shadow could you-"

She looked at the black hedgie, however, his crimson eyes where on the blue hedgie sitting beside him. It seemed as if he was in a dazed state, never taking his eyes off of the other. His eyes skimmed the other, spotting one leg in a cast and the other in a red shoe with a white strap and gold buckle. However, that was the only injury he could see. "Shadow~"

Crimson eyes finally looked away and glared at dark blue, earning a small giggle from the owner of said blue eyes. "Shadow, I'd like you to meet the sweetest little thing in this whole town." She then gestured to the blue hedgie, "this is Sonic. He's the owner of the last noncommercial farm in this town and he's also a major part of the town's annual Fall Festivals."

She then looked at the blue hedgie, "Sonic. This is Shadow, an old friend of mine that actually stays in touch most times." Once emerald eyes locked onto crimson, it seemed like nothing else existed in the world. Sonic lightly smiled, "h-hi. It's um it's nice to meet cha'." This earned a small smile in return, "nice to meet you as well."

The bell chimed again and this time a twin tailed kitsune walked in, dressed in overalls as well but they were covered in dirt and grease. He sighed and sat beside the blue hedgie, "could you get me some water Rouge?" The bat nodded and headed to the back of the diner while baby blue eyes spotted the blue hedgie beside him.

He lightly smiled, "hey Sonic. What brings you here?" The blue one lightly smiled at the boy, "the usual. Hiding from Scourge and trying to find a way to save the farm." The kitsune nodded as a water bottle was placed in front of him, "oh."

He then looked around the hedgie to spot the black hedgehog, "was that your car?" The hedgehog nodded, "yes it is. Do you know how long it will take to fix it?" The boy scoffed, "hard to tell. The carborator's out, spark plugs need to be replaced, gas mileage needs to be reset, oil's low, and the AC vents aren't even working. How in the world did you survive the drive here anyways?"

The black hedgehog sighed, "I'm not sure either. Can you atleast give me an estimate on time?" The kitsune's face contorted, as if trying to solve the equation given. "I'd say... Probably a few weeks. The parts needed have to be shipped and that itself takes up most of the time. Beside's that, we don't have a rental place or a dealership."

This confused the stranger, "then what do you rely on?" "Horses." Well. Whatever answer he expected, that was not it. And it showed. He looked between the three, finally spotting stains on the clothes that do, in fact, support this answer. Dust was covering a good bit of the blue hedgehog, mud on his one pants leg that had an odd odor to it and the fact that he had a strand of hay in his quills also confirmed this.

"I know it's a lot of time but there is a place you can stay at that I can contact until then." Black ears perked up at this, "really?" The kitsune nodded, "the only problem is that we don't really use money as a form of payment." Now he was even more confused, "then how would that work?"

"You earn your stay." Crimson flicked to the blue hedgie, "what?" The boy sighed, "you earn your stay. Here we trade work for goods. Any money earned in the town, goes to the town's bank for funds on needed essentials or building materials."

The black hedgehog scoffed and crossed his arms, "and how in the world is that supposed to work?" The blue one lightly shrugged, "depends. It is my place and right now I need all the help I can get. You'd be doing farm work, feeding the pigs, shoveling hay, fixing fences. That sort of stuff. Each morning, I cook a breakfast at dawn, sweet tea throughout the day, lunch and a big dinner to help regain any energy lost during the day."

Shadow held a deadpanned look, causing the bat to lightly giggle. "oh sweetheart, he's from the city. The only thing he probably understood from what you said was tea and food." The kitsune snorted and held a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing, while the blue hedgie gave an innocently confused look. "What do you mean? I thought everyone had a decent idea of farm life."

The bat lightly sighed, "that innocence of yours is probably the only thing saving you from marriage sweetheart. Shadow grew up in the city, doesn't really watch tv and he doesn't read books dealing with farms either. The only reason why he might be here is because he's passing through or he has some important business to attend to."

The blue hedgie nodded at that, "oh. Well, he can learn on the job then. Besides, aren't people in suits like that supposed to be quick learners?" The black hedgehog lightly growled at the joke, "I happen to be the top rank in all of my fields of studies. And, one of the richest men in the world to date."

He then leaned against the bar, "and I don't see why I have to resort to laboring under the sun just for a place to stay like some country person." The blue hedgie's face fell as he heard a small gasp from the kitsune behind him.

"Listen here, city boy." That surprised the black hedgehog but Sonic continued, "in this town, we don't take kindly to strangers much. I'm allowing you a place to stay in exchange for help on my farm. As you can clearly see, I can't do much until I get this cast off. Along with that, I'm being hunted and courted by a man who wants nothing to do with this town to begin with but because of the amount of money he can gain. So, unless you want to sleep out in the fields with the hogs and the smell of bull crap, I suggest you change that attitude of yours and accept the offer."

The bat and kitsune looked about as surprised as the black hedgehog. The two had never seen the blue hedgie actually have a bad attitude to strangers and even then, it was never this bad. Shadow, on the other hand, was surprised that he was talked back to. In his line of work, he was well respected and only a hand full of people where able to talk back to him and get away with it. Rouge, herself, being one in that hand full.

Not a word was spoken as the two hedgehog's glared at each other, an uncomfortable silence filling the room. Until the black hedgie sighed, "alright. Fine, I accept the offer. But, I will need to get a bases on how the schedule is." The bat became confused while the blue hedgie perked up, "okay. I'm sure Knux wouldn't mind dropping us off at my place soon."

He then turned and looked at the kitsune, "could you go and ask him real quick?" The kitsune nodded and rushed off, outside the building. The blue hedgie then turned to look back at the black hedgie, "I usually wake up at the crack of dawn and feed the animals first. Then, breakfast. After that, muck the stables and collect the eggs from the hens. After that, it depends on what needs to be done that day. I always have at least three pitchers of tea made and there's a small pond in the back to swim in if you get too hot, pretty secluded too. Most times, it's just deliveries I gotta do so you won't have much to do but the heavy lifting and such."

"And I get a place to sleep, food and free time to do whatever I want with?" The blue hedgie nodded, "yeah. I can still do stuff like cooking, it's the stuff that I'll need two legs to do that I can't do." "And that's were I come in, then." the black hedgehog finished. The blue one nodded, "yeah. The people in town will think better of you when they see you helping me because I'm known as the most trust worthy person. And since I'm trusting you to help me, they'll think you did so voluntarily. They won't know about our agreement, if you don't want them to."

The black hedgehog crossed his arms, "so you're giving me a place to stay, food, working plumbing and helping my image in this small town?" The younger nodded with a small smile, "yeah. Seems about even to me." red eyes looked back at the bat, "is he always this nice to strangers?" The bat leaned against the counter, "yup. Trusted me the instant he saw me as well. Gave me the same offer and soon, I was able to get my own place because the town saw me as trust worthy. At the time, however, his arm was broken instead." The black hedgehog perked up at this, "a broken arm and how a broken leg? Is he accident prone?" The blue hedgie lightly giggled nd rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "y-yeah. I um I'm very accident prone, some say I have a lot of bad luck because of Scourge."

"Who is Scourge anyways?" the black one asked. "From what I've heard, he's mean and after you for your farm." The bell wrung a third time and in stepped a green hedgehog, almost the exact opposite of the blue one sitting at the bar. He was dressed in leather, a belt buckle holding a gun to his side and a knife on the other. Shadow glared at the other, already not liking him the moment he walked in.

Sharp ice blue eyes caught those of bright emeralds, also spotting the new arrival. He smirked, "looks like our game of hide and seek is over blue because I found you. And who's this, a city boy lost in the wilderness?" The bat glared at him and moved around the counter to stand between green and blue, "go away Scourge. You know well that he wants nothing to do with you." The smirk fell, "and you should know how stubborn I am. This has nothing to do with you bat," he remarked with malice, "so move aside and let me talk to the blueberry." She didn't move, standing her ground, crossing her arms and flexing her wings to hide the blue one from his vision. Scourge lightly growled, "I said move."

Shadow finally spoke up, "no." Ice blue flickered to the black hedgehog, "What?" Shadow lightly scoffed, "I said no. She doesn't have to move if she doesn't want to. And she doesn't have to follow any orders given to her by the like of you." Ice blue glared at crimson red, "you're one to talk, stranger. We don't take too kindly to folk like you, so it's best you get your ass in your pretty little car and scram, before I send my guys after you and leave you stranded between here and Station Square." "You don't scare me."

Silence seemed to fill the air, as the two glared at each other. Until, a small yawn was heard. All eyes flickered to the blue hedgie, blue ears falling down as his eyes seemed to fight against the sleepiness he felt. The bat checked her watch, "nap time." She glared back at Scourge, "best you head back. He needs his rest and you know this as well as I do." The other scoffed, "big baby. Fine, but this isn't over." The green hedgehog turned around and headed outside, the sound of a motorcycle could be heard as he rode off, the bat lightly sighing in relief. She looked behind but froze at what she saw.

Shadow held a soft look at the blue hedgie trying not to fall asleep against him. The blue one had his head near Shadow's chest, right above his heart. A blue hear lightly flickered to the sound as his own breathing slowed to match the others. A black arm was wrapped around the others back, helping to hold him up. Rouge lightly smiled, "Seems he did take a liking to you. I'll get Knuckles to take you two to his house, let you get settled In and let Sonic take his afternoon nap." The black hedgie didn't even seem to notice what the bat said or the fact that she left.

He was too focused on the farmer asleep on his chest, blue ears flickering every once in a while. A small smile grazed tan lips, crimson eyes holding a soft look towards the sleeping being. The moment was as sweet as honey and as soft as cotton. And, for some reason, he didn't want it to end. Maybe last just a little longer, just a little bit longer.


	2. Chapter 2

It was only an hour later that the blue hedgie awoke, curled up on his couch with a blanket. At the end of the couch sat the black hedgie, reading a book with a briefcase at his feet. The blue hedgie sat up and yawned, lightly smiling. "Hey, did Knux drop us off here?" The city hedgie looked up and nodded, "yeah. He dropped us off and made sure that I knew the layout of the farm so I'd be ready to help."

The farmer nodded, "good. What time is it?" The other looked at his wrist, where his watch sat. "5;30. Why?" The farmer pulled the blanket off and slipped his feet to relax on the wooden floor. Then, as carefully as he could, he stood up and held his casted leg up off the floor. He saw his crutch beside the couch and grabbed it, sliding it under his arm.

"Almost dinner time. I usually cook around 6, and make snacks for later if I would get hungry. Now, I'll make twice the amount in case you do too." This confused the city hedgie, "why would you need snacks after dinner?"

The other shrugged as he headed to the kitchen behind the couch, "I have a fast metabolism and I get hungry." He crutched himself a few feet before reaching the open door for the kitchen. The house itself was two stories with a small attic. The bottom floor held a large living room with two large book cases against the wall across from the wall holding the front door. Beside the front door was a large window, the blinds a pale blue and pulled back. On the wall connecting the window wall and the bookcase wall had a large fireplace, a Browning semi-automatic shotgun above it on the mantel.

Behind the couch. catty-corner to another couch and a small table at the corner, stood a small bar area with some cabinets above. The kitchen was a decent sized, enough room to hold about several people with elbow room. Wooden countertops held a microwave and a toaster, a sterling silver sink also being held in the countertop. The fridge was pressed against the wall with the door, a deep freeze between the wall and the fridge.

In the living room, there was a set of stairs across from the front door and a hallway, leading to a downstair bathroom on one side and a small broom closet under the stairs. The second floor held three bedrooms; two spare bedrooms and the third was the farmer's own, along with a bathroom. The rooms were marked, making it easy to know which room was which. 

The blue hedgie placed his crutch against the side of the wall, near the fridge. He used the countertops to hop around the room, reaching up into the top cabinets for pots and below into the bottom cabinets, grabbing some cookie trays.

He placed those on the counter, then hopped over to the fridge, opening it and pulling things out. The city hedgie started hearing the clang of pots and pans, gaining his attention. As quiet as he could, he placed a bookmark in his book and placed it down on the coffee table. He stood up and headed to the opening to the kitchen. 

Red eyes watched as the other jumped around the room and started cooking. He leaned against the wall and watched, unsure to help or not. It wasn't until he started smelling a heavenly smell from the stove. He watched as the other cooked two things at the same time, cooking one and baking another. The blue hedgie looked up at the other and lightly smiled, "don't worry. I usually try to steer clear of most foods known to give others allergic reactions."

His face then fell to a serious one, "you don't have any allergies. Do you?" Shadow shook his head, "no. And I also cannot get sick, unlike most others." The blue hedgie only nodded and went back to chopping the veggies, "good to know. It's common for at least one person to get sick here, rarely me though." The black and red hedgie nodded, "what are you making anyways?' 

That earned a small smile, "traditional gumbo. I cook a bit of everything here, and the people love it. I try to cook for the kids once a month to help the families here, along with lettin' them help out on the farm during the week ends. It get's them interested in farming and the animals themselves." He picked up the cutting bored and used the knife to push the chopped veggies into the pot, setting it back down and looking at a small timer he had set. "And what are you baking?"

"Peanut butter cookies, sometimes I make other kinds. But, I usually try to steer clear from sweets and chocolate, it's just my thing." This confused the black and red hedgie, "why? I get that some people might not like regular chocolate but why all chocolate?"

The farmer sighed, "it's just not my thing. Last time I had regular chocolate, an' I was bouncing off the walls." He couldn't help but smile at the memory, "learned real quick how bad it hurts to slam into a tree at Mach 1." This caught the city hedgie's attention, "Mach 1? How fast can you run?!" The other lightly chuckled, "I got up to Mach 2 once. Also smashing into the barn at the same time."

The blue hedgie hopped over to the fridge while the other was still shocked. He opened the fridge, pulled out a large jug of tea and carefully hoped back to the counter, letting the door close on itself. "Ya want some tea?" That snapped the black and red hedgie back to the present, "sure." 

He reached up and pulled out two coffee mugs, setting them on the counter. He then poured a cup for the other and himself, grabbing one cup and being careful when he moved the closer to the hedgie. HE gave the cup to him, " I know how much sugar you like, but I've been able to go down to at least one cup." The other nodded and stood up, grabbing the cup and letting the other continue cooking.

It was only a few minutes before dinner was done, and two bowls where poured out. He then waved for the other to come closer, "could you carry the bowls into the living room and put mine on the coffee table? I gotta get the cookies out and set for later." He hesitated, then sighed and did as asked, taking one bowl in each hand and going back into the living room. He sat the bowls down and went back to his post my the kitchen.

The farmer, wearing oven mitts, pulled out two trays of peanut butter cookies and sat them on the counter. He then reached below and pulled out two cooling trays and a spatula from a drawer holding some of his cooking utensils. He held the pan and slipped each cookie off and onto the cooling racks, lightly humming to himself as he did so. The melody sounded familiar to the city hedgie, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

It wasn't until the other was done and heading back to the living room that he decided to ask. "Did that happen to be Fifty Seconds to Saturn you where humming, right?" Blue ears perked up as he grabbed the crutch, "y-yeah. Not a lot of people like the band though. Ya know, country town, country music." The city hedgie sighed, knowing the feeling all too well. "My parents didn't like the band either, wanted me to listen to classical music, like Bethooven and Bork."

The other lightly snorted, "wow. They sound worse than mine, they just didn't want me to listen to anything but country or christian. And they wondered why I didn't like it much." His face fell at the mention of his parents, "it doesn't matter. They're gone and the farm is mine." He then crutched himself to the couch, mug in hand as he tried to hurry.

The other hedgie was confused, watching as the other went to the couch, sat down and took a sip from his drink. He noticed the small tremor in his hold and could tell that whatever he didn't want to talk about was having negative repercussions on him. So, the city hedgie went and sat down beside the farmer, setting his own cup down. For some reason, he couldn't help but worry for the other.

S, he carefully placed his own hand on the shaking ones, earning the stare from emerald eyes. Ruby showed understanding but also wanting to know why. "You don't need to tell me about it, but it's best you talk to someone at least. The last thing you need is a mental breakdown, especially when you are already injured." The other gave a soft nod and closed his eyes, taking in slow, deep breaths until his hands no longer shook.

The two then relaxed and started eating, occasionally taking sips from their tea. They sat in a comfortable silence as the sun started setting behind the house.The farmer was never really able to look up at the other, confusion and worries kept his eyes down and on his food. Now, he's helped out many of the locals, even helped a few get started in the town, but he'd rarely have a visitor stay longer than a month. He doesn't really see the point in anyone staying if they can take care of themselves, so. He never asks them t stay, and they always want to leave.

And he knows, that once the guys car is fixed, he'll be gone. Just another soul passing through, not daring to give a parting glance. It happened last time. And he knows that if he isn't careful, it'll happen again.


End file.
